U.S. patent number 5,628,123 [Application Number 08/247,251] was granted by the patent office on 1997-05-13 for attachment for a hair dryer.
This patent grant is currently assigned to China Pacific Trade Ltd.. Invention is credited to Wing-Kin Chan.
United States Patent |
5,628,123 |
Chan |
May 13, 1997 |
Attachment for a hair dryer
Abstract
An attachment for a hair dryer is disclosed of the type that
requires a source of power, for example a massaging apparatus or an
infra-red radiation heater. Rather than provide the attachment with
its own power source, the attachment is formed with a terminal that
allows it to be connected to the power supply circuit of a suitably
adapted hair dryer.
Inventors: |
Chan; Wing-Kin (Hong Kong,
HK) |
Assignee: |
China Pacific Trade Ltd.
(VG)
|
Family
ID: |
22934211 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/247,251 |
Filed: |
May 23, 1994 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
34/90;
392/384 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45D
20/12 (20130101); A61H 7/005 (20130101); A45D
2200/205 (20130101); A61H 2201/0207 (20130101); A61H
2201/0228 (20130101); A61H 2201/025 (20130101); A61H
2201/10 (20130101); A61N 2005/0659 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A45D
20/12 (20060101); A45D 20/00 (20060101); A61H
7/00 (20060101); F26B 019/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;34/96,97,98,101,282,90,91 ;392/383,384,385 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Bennett; Henry A.
Assistant Examiner: Wilson; Gregory
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Burns, Doane, Swecker &
Mathis
Claims
I claim:
1. An electrically-powered attachment for a hair dryer comprising,
means for removably attaching the attachment to a hot air outlet of
a barrel of the hair dryer, and means for electrically connecting
the attachment to a power supply circuit of the hair dryer.
2. An attachment as claimed in claim 1 wherein the attachment is a
massaging apparatus.
3. An attachment as claimed in claim 2 wherein said massaging
apparatus comprises a plurality of massaging finger elements, and
drive means for causing rotation of the massaging finger
elements.
4. An attachment as claimed in claim 3 wherein said massaging
finger elements are disposed in a circular array, with each said
finger element being provided with an associated gear, said gears
meshing with each other whereby all the gears and hence all the
finger elements may be rotatably driven together.
5. An attachment as claimed in claim 2 wherein said massaging
apparatus is provided with a surrounding diffuser housing.
6. An attachment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said attachment is a
radiation heater.
7. An attachment as claimed in claim 6 wherein said radiation
heater comprises a bulb, a reflector element and a diffuser
housing.
8. A hair dryer provided with an attachment, said attachment being
of the type requiring a source of power, and having electrical
connection means comprising an electrical socket located in a hot
air outlet of a barrel of the hair dryer, and an electrical
terminal on said attachment that is received in said socket when
the attachment is attached to the hair dryer, whereby said
attachment may be connected to a power supply circuit associated
with the hair dryer.
9. A hair dryer as claimed in claim 8 wherein said electrical
connection means is adapted to supply the attachment with a DC
supply.
10. A hair dryer as claimed in claim 8 wherein said electrical
connection means is adapted to supply the attachment with an AC
supply.
11. The attachment of claim 1 wherein said connecting means
includes an electrical terminal that is adapted to mate with an
electrical socket located in a hot air outlet of the barrel of a
hair dryer.
12. A hair dryer having a heat source, a hot air outlet formed on a
barrel, and a fan for blowing air heated by said heat source out of
said outlet, and further including a radiation heater attached to
said hot air outlet, said radiation heater comprising a bulb, a
reflector element and a diffuser housing for directing said heated
air past said reflector element.
13. The hair dryer of claim 12 wherein said diffuser housing forms
an annular opening which surrounds the bulb and reflector
element.
14. The hair dryer of claim 12 including means within said hair
dryer for providing electrical power to said heat source and said
fan, and wherein said radiation heater comprises an attachment that
is separable from said barrel, and further including an electrical
connector for connecting said bulb to said power providing means
when said radiation heater is attached to said barrel.
15. The hair dryer of claim 14 wherein said electrical connector
comprises an electrical socket located in said hot air outlet and
connected to said power providing means, and an electrical terminal
connected to said bulb, which is received within said socket when
said radiation heater is attached to said barrel.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an attachment for a hairdryer, for
example to a massaging apparatus that may be combined with a hair
dryer, or to a radiation heater mat may be attached to a hair
dryer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known that a beneficial effect may be achieved by massaging
the scalp. Traditionally this has been done by the manual action of
a hairdresser's fingers. However this requires a visit to a
hairdresser or to a beauty salon, and it is not really possible for
a person to massage their own scalp very easily.
It would be desirable therefore to provide a massaging apparatus
that enables a person to massage their own scalp. It would be
particularly desirable to provide such a massaging apparatus that
may be used in conjunction with a hair dryer whereby a massaging
action can be combined with hot air.
Radiation heaters are also known and it would also be desirable to
provide a radiation heater that could be combined with a hair
dryer.
However both massagers and radiation heaters require a power source
for their operation. Including the power source in the attachment
however would increase the complexity and/or weight of the
attachment. It will be appreciated that this is a disadvantage, not
only for massagers or radiation heaters but for any attachment that
requires a source of power, for example a mist sprayer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided an attachment
for a hair dryer comprising, means for removably attaching the
attachment to the hot air outlet of the barrel of the hair dryer,
and means for electrically connecting the attachment to the power
supply circuit of the hair dryer.
By means of this arrangement there is no requirement for the
attachment to be provided with its own power source, instead the
attachment may rely upon the power source of the hair dryer, be
that a battery or mains power source.
In one embodiment the attachment may be a massaging apparatus.
Preferably the massaging apparatus may comprise a plurality of
massaging finger elements, and drive means for causing rotation of
the massaging finger elements.
Preferably the drive means comprises an electric drive motor, the
output of which drives the massaging finger elements in rotation
via a gear train. In a particularly preferred arrangement the
massaging finger elements may be disposed in a circular array, with
each said finger element being provided with an associated gear,
said gears meshing with each other whereby all the gears and hence
all the finger elements may be rotatably driven together.
Since the massaging apparatus is adapted to be used in conjunction
with a hair dryer, the massaging apparatus may be formed with a
surrounding diffuser housing whereby in use hot air may be diffused
around the massaging apparatus whereby hair may be dried while the
scalp is being massaged.
In another embodiment the attachment may be an infra-red radiation
heater. In such an embodiment that attachment may comprise a bulb,
a reflector element and a hood element.
The electrical connection means provided between the hair dryer and
the attachment may be such as to provide the attachment with a
source of AC or DC power. For example the massaging apparatus would
require a DC supply while the radiation heater requires an AC
supply. Conceivably the connection means could be configured to
provide DC or AC voltage selectively.
It will also be understood that both attachments could be formed
integrally with a hair dryer, and therefore the invention also
extends to a hair dryer formed with a massaging unit attached to
the hot air outlet of the barrel of the hair dryer, said massaging
unit comprising a plurality of massaging fingers and drive means
for causing rotation of the massaging finger elements.
Similarly the invention also extends to a hair dryer formed with a
radiation heater attached to the hot air outlet of the barrel of
the hair dryer, the radiation heater comprising a bulb, a reflector
element and a hood element.
In general terms one may regard the invention as extending to a
hair dryer provided with an attachment, said attachment being of a
type requiring a source of power, and comprising electrical
connection means whereby said attachment may be connected to the
power supply circuit of the hair dryer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Some embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of
example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an attachment according
to a first embodiment of the invention in the form of a massaging
apparatus,
FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of an attachment according to a
second embodiment of the invention in the form of a radiation
heater,
FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of a hair dryer adapted to supply
an attachment with a DC voltage,
FIG. 4 shows a circuit diagram for the hair dryer of FIG. 3,
FIG. 5 is a sectional side view of a hair dryer adapted to supply
an attachment with a AC voltage, and
FIG. 6 shows a circuit diagram for the hair dryer of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring firstly to FIG. 1 there is shown an attachment for a hair
dryer in the form of a massaging apparatus. The massaging apparatus
comprises a circular base plate 1 provided with a plurality of
holes 2 arranged in a circle. Located in each hole 2 is a massaging
finger element 3. The massaging finger elements 3 each comprise a
first shaft portion 4 of a length greater than the thickness of the
plate 1, a second shaft portion 5 provided at an angle to the first
shaft portion 4 and formed of a relatively soft resilient material
for a massaging effect, and a drive gear 6 provided at the end of
the first shaft portion remote from the second portion.
As can be seen from FIG. 1 the finger elements 3 are located in the
holes 2 and are free to rotate therein. The drive gears 6 on the
respective finger elements 3 whereby rotation of one finger element
causes rotation of all other such elements, but with alternate
finger elements rotating in opposite directions as shown by the
arrows in FIG. 1. One of the finger elements 3' is also provided
with a bevel gear 7 which engages a corresponding bevel gear 8
provided on the output shaft of an electric motor 9. Thus it will
be understood that upon operation of the motor 9 the finger
elements 3 are caused to rotate and may apply a massaging
effect.
The gears and the motor are all provided within a conical gear box
cover 10 at the apex of which is provided a DC connection terminal
11 whereby the motor may be connected to the power supply circuit
of a hair dryer in a manner to be described further below.
Surrounding the gear box cover 10 is a frusto-conical diffuser
housing 12, the smaller open end 13 of which is provided with means
(not shown in FIG. 1) for connecting to the hot air outlet or a
hair dryer barrel. Such means may for example comprise a screw
thread, or an arrangement of engaging lugs and recesses. When the
attachment is fitted to a hair dryer the dryer can still be
operated and hot air will pass into the diffuser housing 12 and in
the gap defined between the gear box cover 10 and the diffuser
housing and will exit through an annular gap 14 provided at the
edge of the base plate 1. Thus hot air can be provided at the same
time that the massaging fingers can be caused to rotate to massage
the scalp.
Turning now to FIG. 2 there is shown therein an alternative
embodiment in the form of an infra-red radiation heater 20. The
heater 20 comprises a bulb 21 mounted to a base unit 22 and
surrounded by an aluminium reflector 23. The bulb 21 is protected
from damage by a sheet 24 of glass, plastic, crystal or the like as
is conventional.
To the rear of the base unit 22 is formed an electrical connection
terminal 25 of a conventional pin type. Terminal 25 comprises a pin
26 within a cylindrical sleeve 27, the sleeve and the pin being
divided into two halves. The half of the pin adjacent the base unit
22 is provided with connections for leads 28 connecting to the bulb
21. The other half of the pin is adapted to be received in a
corresponding socket adaptor formed on the hair dryer and to be
described below with reference to FIG. 3.
It will also be noted in FIG. 2 that surrounding the reflector 23
but spaced therefrom is a diffuser housing 29 whereby hot air
exiting the outlet of a hair dryer to which the attachment is fixed
can pass in the space defined between the diffuser housing and the
reflector 23 and can exit the attachment through an annular opening
30 surounding the radiation heater.
The neck portion 31 of the diffuser housing may be provided with a
stepped shoulder portion for engaging, eg by friction, the outlet
of a hair dryer. The embodiment of FIG. 1 may use a similar
attachment means.
Referring to FIG. 3 the structure of a hair dryer to which such an
attachment may be fixed. The basic structure of the hair dryer is
conventional and comprises a handle portion 40 and a barrel portion
41. Within the barrel 41 are located a motor 42 which drives a fan
43 to draw air into the barrel through a rear grill 44, and
resistive heating elements R1, R2 and R3. An on/off switch 48 is
also provided.
The barrel 41 is formed with an outlet grill 45 for the discharge
of hot air drawn into the dryer at the rear and heated by the
resistive heating elements. Centrally located in the grill 45 is a
sock adaptor 46 for receiving the terminal pin 26 of the
attachment. Socket adaptor 46 is connected by leads 47 to the power
supply circuit of the hair dryer in the manner shown in the circuit
diagram comprising FIG. 4. From FIG. 4 it will be seen that the
attachment, load L, is connected in parallel across the power
supply circuit so that the attachment, in this case the radiation
heater, is provided with an AC supply equal to that supplied to the
hair dryer itself, 110 V AC. It will also be seen that the power
supply circuit is provided with an on/off switch and a protective
thermostat.
FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an alternative arrangement for the
massaging apparatus embodiment. The motor for the massaging fingers
will require only a relatively low DC voltage, and as seen in FIG.
6 this may be achieved by taking the supply for the massaging
apparatus from across one of the heating resistive elements,
suitably rectified by a rectifying circuit 50. In FIG. 5 the hair
dryer is substantially identical to that shown in FIG. 3 subject to
the addition of rectifying circuit 50.
* * * * *